Allegan riverfront projects to start in spring with improvements to Veterans Park

ALLEGAN, MI -- The Allegan City Council has awarded the first construction contract for its riverfront renovation project.

A woman sits along the riverfront in downtown Allegan in this file photograph.Kalamazoo Gazette file

The council contracted with TJM Services, of Allegan, for the river walk improvements at the Veterans Park for $69,795.

Allegan's signature riverfront is a string of parks beginning on the west with the Veterans Park.

"Construction will start this spring," City Manager-Clerk Robert Hillard said.

Veterans Park will be expanded into the parking lot next to the river. "We are taking away approximately 12 parking spots in the riverfront area," Hillard said. This will give more space for events. There will also be fishing platforms.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is paying for half and the remainder by the city and the Downtown Development Authority.

The plan's highlights include an outdoor stage area, ice rink, extensions to the boardwalk so people can walk all around the impoundment, and a splash pad, which is a sprinkling device that shoots water in the air to cool off children.